Juice box
by Toblerone3
Summary: Rukia is having a hard time opening a strange living world device. ICHIxRUKI
1. Rukia

**MEANINGLESS STORIES, MY FAVOURITE!**

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**Rukia**

Yep, If Renji was here he would be laughing his ass off, all right. That is until I gave him this wretched thing, and then I'd be the one laughing.

I almost smirk at the thought but then I remember the reason I'm here anyway.

Yes, these _juice boxes_ truly are infernal things.

I remember Ichigo showing me how to open the damn things but I'd forgotten. Stupid, stupid, IDIOT, Rukia! Sure, slicing hordes of vicious and dangerous hollows to bits is no problem, I'll run off to take care of that like taking the garbage out, but opening a stupid, human, portable, fruit liquid box thing made of cardboard and plastic, that even toddlers can infiltrate, forget it, I have to recruit a tall, orange haired boy to accomplish that one.

No. I refuse to get help from Ichigo this time! Ok! You can do this, Rukia! Just think! First things first, how do I breach the plastic barrier around the tube thing?

"Oi, need some help?"

I nearly choke on my heart when I realize Ichigo is standing there, but I keep my composer as best I can. How long has he been there? I look up at the sky and notice it's a deep orange. How long have _I _been here? What time was it? I wonder what's for din-

"Rukia!" Ichigo's voice snaps me back to reality.

"What do you want, idiot?" I retort, annoyed.

"I asked you a question and you didn't answer. Who's the idiot now, eh?" He says. His scowl is still in place but his eyes are mocking.

I feel my cheeks flush slightly and I look away from him.

"So, what did you ask?"

"I wanted to know if you needed help."

With what?

"You know, the juice box?" the confusion on my face must have been really obvious. Or, maybe, He could just be good at reading me. I feel the warmth back on my cheeks and hide my face from him.

"No! I can do it myself!" I yell.

He comes over to face my direction.

"Alright, whatever." He says.

I try to free the tube again. I fail. Again. Nodda. Again. Zip.

With each failure I feel my face burn more and more. From the corner of my eye I can see him smirking at me, his own eyes laughing now.

He puts his hand out.

"Give it here." He says.

"I can do it!" I shout.

He brings his hand back and puts both against his chest, defensibly.

"Try not to bite my head off."

"I'll keep that in mind." I say to the tall boy.

I resort to biting at the plastic and he grabs the tube out of my mouth and the box out of my hand.

"Moron, if you bite it, you'll just hurt your teeth." He puts the box on the ground and points to the sharper end of the tube, still encased in the wrapper "Look, you see the tip of the straw?"

I nod.

"Well, you hold the straw near the tip and use your other hand to hold it near the top, get it?"

He demonstrates and I nod again.

"Stop talking to me like I'm a child." I say.

"It's easier this way." Damn strawberry.

"Now, see how I'm pushing my fingers together without letting go of the wrapper?"

"Yeah."

And suddenly the tu...oh wait...straw is out of its prison. My eyes widen in shock.

"The sharp end of the straw broke through the wrapper." Ichigo says, answering my unvoiced question.

He switches the straw into his right hand and picks up the juice box.

"This parts' easy. There's a tin circle on the top of the box. Stick the pointy part of the straw through it."

The example made it easy to understand. Once he was done I swiped back the box and sucked on the straw.

"I can't get over how good juice in the human world is." I say

"Ah." He replies.

The atmosphere becomes awkward.

I feel the need to fill the silence.

"And Ichigo."

"What?"

"Th-thanks."

He smiles, one of his rare genuine smiles, the kind that isn't mocking or laughing, but happy, gentle and maybe even sweet. Every time I see that smile my breath catches and my heart speeds up. My cheeks begin to burn. I'm embarrassed by my stupid schoolgirl tendencies. It's all his fault. I pray that the sunset covers the red splattered foolishly on my face. I turn away and slurp on my juice box. I want strawberry juice next time.

--

**This isn't over yet. I'm gonna do it in Ichigo's POV too.**

**-Tobi.**


	2. Ichigo

**HERE! TAKE IT JUST TAKE IT! **_**SOB**_

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**Ichigo**

She's really cute. Not in the_ warning: perverted and hormonal male (a.k.a. Keigo) _way but in a genuinely adorable way. Here she is, a scowl evident on her cute little face staring at a plastic covered straw, of which she had so triumphantly removed from the cardboard surface of a mango-peach juice box perhaps about twenty minutes ago, with such a burning hatred it was almost funny.

Ha. She would probably send me six feet under if I ever told her that I thought she was _cute_, if I ever told her any of what I'd last though, for that matter.

Ah, her lips twitched. Wonder why. Maybe I should call Yuzu and tell her we'll be home late. I don't think she knows I'm here. Leave it to Rukia to be completely engrossed in a plastic straw.

I watched, as her eyes quickly turned from, oddly enough, doubt to screaming determination. I should snap her out of her little dream world before she gives her self a brain hemorrhage or unwittingly cuts her arm off. Something like that, I wouldn't put past Rukia, what with her not-so-extensive knowledge of all things human. You'd think a shinigami would know more about their workplace.

"Oi, need some help." I say to her. If she hadn't noticed me before she would have now. I noted that her body flinched at my voice.

That was one short glance she gave me let me tell you. All of, what, one, maybe two seconds. I love the acknowledgment I get from every body these days. When I want to start up a conversation between some one I get ignored but if a hollow or an arrancar attacks, suddenly it's '_Oh, saaave us, Ichigo! We looove you, Ichigo! Please don't ignooore us, Ichigo, we've __never__ ignored __yooou__!' _It can really annoy a person, you know.

She's looking at the sky now. The orange light of the setting sun makes her face glow beautifully so I regret doing what I'm about to do, but I'm hungry and It's late and I sure as hell ain't gonna let some cheap juice box keep me from my dinner.

"Rukia!" I half shout.

Her head snaps to look at me and she glares.

"What do you want, idiot?" She says, clearly irritated by my interruption.

Now that's comedy. A cute teenage girl who is calling _me _an idiot even though she's the one spacing off and struggling with a juice box of all things. I won't smile, though. I won't let her suffer through that much embarrassment. I can't ignore this though; she just _walked _into this one.

"I asked you a question and you didn't answer. Who's the idiot now, eh?" I try hard not make my tone sarcastic. Her cheeks turn a light shade of pink, but I only catch a glimpse; she turned her face to look away from me.

"So, what did you ask?" She truly was a very well composed person; any other girl who was embarrassed would have stuttered or had their voice quaver. A lot of times when I'm talking to Inoue she stutters or her voice gets nervous, usually because she makes _herself _feel embarrassed. I figure she's got a crush on me, if her reactions tward me aren't proof enough than the people telling me upright that she likes me sure close the deal (Let's not mention the men shooting me dirty looks down the halls, although I'm not sure if that's about Inoue or my reputation). I'm practically her brother and anyway, I'm getting off track. Though it doesn't look like Rukia's very bothered by my pause. She's always had a pretty bad sense of time when she's preoccupied with something else.

"I wanted to know if you needed help." I say.

By now she's turned back tward me. I don't think she realized she'd turned; she's been very absent-minded this afternoon. There are hints of confusion in her eyes. She doesn't know what I'm talking about, does she?

"You know, the juice box?" Her cheeks turn pink again at this sudden recollection and she turns away from me again.

"No! I can do it myself!" I hear Rukia's stubborn yell. How many times have I heard that yell? At least once a day, I think.

'_She has a lovely voice.' _ I can't help but agree with you, Zangetsu. She'd be a fantastic singer. '_I wouldn't mind hearing that.'_ Neither would I. In fact, one day, I'd like to.

I'm pretty sick of the back of her head. I'd much rather see her face. I walk over to her. Oh, right. I'd better reply to that little '_I can do it myself_' thing. I can't think of anything good, so, I'll stick to an approval and wait till she gives up with the juice box and hands it to me to open. Then we'll finally be able to go home.

"Alright, whatever."

I resume watching her try to open the wrapper and get to the straw. It's cuter than before. Ah, man. Kurosaki Ichigo- Hair: Orange- Eyes: brown- age: 15- occupation: High school student/ shinigami- likes adorable things. That's not exactly my profile of choice. The last thing I need with my reputation is my enemies knowing I have a soft spot for cute things. Or rather cute raven haired, beautiful eyed girls with stubborn and feisty attitudes and a hobby for killing horrible soul eating monsters from beyond the grave.

She keeps failing. She's stepping on it. She's thrown it. I think push comes to shove she might use kidou. I can't hold back the ridiculing smirk that slips across my lips. All of this trouble over a 1.50 box of juice that can be opened by any one else but her in under a minute and, after 45 minutes, she still hasn't accomplished the task of getting the straw out of the plastic wrapper. God, I want to laugh.

I've decided it's not right to let her suffer like this, so I hold out my hand.

"Give it here." I say, more patiently than I had intended.

"I can do it!" I should've expected that bite and, with my unwavering tolerance for it, do not intend to snap back. Instead, I bring my hands to my chest, like I'm trying to ease her off and say,

"Try not to bite my head off."

She relaxes somewhat and looks at the plastic coated straw.

"I'll keep that in mind." The small girl says. I figure that's as close as I'll get to an apology, though we've never really apologized to each other unless one of us have _really _screwed up. Huh. '_Us' _has a pretty good ring to it. '_Yeah, so does Kurosaki Rukia.'_ I'm gonna pretend you didn't just say that Zangetsu.

Suddenly, she bites the side of the wrapper in such a way you know she's going to fail and it's gonna hurt her when she does. I instinctively grab the straw out of her mouth and take the box away from her.

"Moron, if you bite it, you'll just hurt your teeth." I place the juice on the ground and point to the sharp end of still trapped straw "Look, you see the tip of the straw?"

She nods her head in confirmation.

"Well, you hold the straw near the tip and use your other hand to hold it near the top, get it?" As I said these words, I give her live examples so she won't get confused again and she'd really understand.

"Stop talking to me like I'm a child."

I just want to go home, you stupid midget "It's easier this way." I can almost hear her cursing me.

"Now see how I'm pushing my fingers together without letting go of the wrapper?"

"Yeah." She answers, almost rudely.

I quicken my movements and I watch her face with mild amusement as her eyes widen in disbelief.

"The sharp end of the straw broke through the wrapper." I say, matter-of-factly.

I trade the straw hands and pick up the juice box.

"This parts' easy. There's a tin circle on the top of the box. Stick the pointy part of the straw though it." I say, following my own instructions. Before I knew it she had the box back in her possession and was holding the freed end of the straw between her lips.

"I can't get over how good the juice in the human world is." She says between sips.

"Ah." I agree.

Was walking home always this uncomfortable. I feel like I should say something but...what?

"And Ichigo?" Thank God.

"What?" I ask.

"Th-thanks." I don't take back what I said about her being composed. The fact that she's thanking me for something as trivial as juice box lessons is very cute (we're back to that, eh?) and makes me, strangely, happy. I should be careful not to fall in love with Rukia; there is a chance I could. The thought makes me even happier. I could get used to being in love with her. Her brother would hack me into his dogs' food if he could hear my thoughts now. I really shouldn't, anyway. I mean sure she's beautiful, smart, not a pushover, amusing, loyal, we work well together... ah, damn. '_ Yes, Ichigo, let's make sure we dodge __**that **__swing of the sword. Happiness would only ruin your oh so more important reputation.'_ I wish you'd be quiet.

I look over to the girl in my thoughts and realize she'd turned away and is slurping on her juice. I know that I'm smirking but I don't care, she's turned away. She's blushing. Even her ears are red.

--

**I think Zangetsu was my favourite character! I acknowledge the fact that he is very OOC but I imagine that he's got a funny side too. NOW, it's the end. I'm such a nerd. And guess what?**

**I'M GOING TO ANIME NORTH IN NINE DAYS! YAAAAAY!**

**-Tobi **


End file.
